Pokemon Black and White: Path of Myths
by RedSkyTiger
Summary: The mysterious N wishes to liberate Pokemon across Unova. When fate forces the brash Blake Touya, who wants to be the greatest Pokemon trainer, and icy Theresa Touko, who has a fierce ambition to become the champion, into teaming up to face the troubles that lie ahead; can the two learn to work together and make it to the Pokemon League? How far will N go for his strange agenda?
1. Starting a Legend Anew

In a room inside a distant Castle, sat a little boy the age of seven. His blue eyes wandered around, the area filled with toys. Then he felt a little poke on his leg and looked down and there was a Zorua. It tugged on his beige short pants, almost wanting to tell him something.

The boy stood up from the floor and smiled at the little pokemon, fixing his orange T-shirt before he went to follow Zorua. His room consisted of a giant skateboard ramp, a basketball hoop, and a train. Many of them sitting there lonely from the past days he hadn't used them. Soon he wandered over to the box filled with more toys, retrieving a ball that Zorua and him could play with.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in came a tall man with green hair and wearing a seemingly odd robe. He called the boy's name and stomped over to the child, glaring down at him.

"N." He boomed. The little boy tried not to jump, for if he would, he was afraid he would get hit if he showed any signs of fear.

"Y-yes.. f-father?" N replied, shaking a little clutching the ball tightly in his hands. He suddenly fell backwards, a red mark on his cheek from a slap.

"You are not to call me that **BOY!**!" He growled. "You are to address me as Ghetsis! Do you HEAR ME?"

N nodded in fright, rubbing the mark on his cheek, tears already falling from his eyes. "Y-yes G-Ghetsis..."

"I have brought a Pokemon for you. He has also been with those wretched trainers. N, do you remember what I have told you?" He asked, watching as N nodded quickly, his eyes widening, remembering clearly of the abused Pokemon that were with trainers.

"Pokemon trainers are bad! They're mean to Pokemon!" N repeated what he had heard multiple times from his friends, scratching his long green hair afterwards. Then Ghetsis nodded, urging him to continue with... "Pokemon should be free from all humans."

"That's a good boy." Ghetsis said, suddenly snapping his fingers, and from the door, a man in a costume entered, holding in his arms a Sewaddle. "This Sewaddle was left alone to fend for himself by a trainer. Is THIS what you want, N!?"

N shook his head, more tears coming from looking at the hurt Sewaddle.

The man walked over handing the hurt Pokemon to N, before both himself and Ghetsis left the room with a slam of a door.

N looked at the door for a long time, then after glancing back at the little Sewaddle. "Why were you left alone?" the child asked it, the infant bug whimpered in reponse, its big eyes all watery.

'This trainer left me alone because I was weak!' the Sewaddle squeaked. 'I only wanted to be his friend.. but he rejected me all the time! And he would always hit me!'

N gasped at this, feeling sympathetic of the little bug pokemon. "Just like me.." N whispered. Feeling tears accumulate more around his eyes, he clenched his fist and grit his teeth. "I p-promise... I-I p-promise Sewaddle... That a-all P-pokemon s-shall be f-freed from Pokemon trainers... and then... and then you won't have to suffer ever AGAIN!"

* * *

Crowds of people gathered in an enormous room in a castle. Many of them cheered, roaring with excitement. Seven men walked across a throne room, in the front was Ghetsis, who held a crown in his hands.

They all had arrived to the throne chair by the end of the room, turning around, seeing all of the members in which they recruited were there.

Ghetsis smirked, holding up the crown. "Today! THE CORONATION OF THE TEAM PLASMA KING!"

The crowd cheered once again, roaring louder as a young man of eighteen came walking in with a long white robe around his shoulders. His hair covered his eyes as he smiled, walking over to Ghetsis with two Goddesses walking behind him also smiling. They smiled too.

Ghetsis had long awaited for this moment, and finally it had arrived. "Finally the day has come to crown you as our King..."

The young man kneeled down before Ghetsis, who held the golden crown over his head. The boy closed his eyes, remembering his childhood, and many of the things he waited to soon fulfill in the future. With the crown shining atop his head, N opened his eyes, his smile widening.

The man stood to his feet, looking back at the members of Team Plasma. He raised his hand, smirking. "I shall liberate all Pokemon, and become the hero of the legends!" At these words came more cheers from the crowd.

"**Hail the King of Team Plasma! N!"**

* * *

A young girl of about fifteen stood at the entrance of Nuvema town, running an intense gaze over the area as she searched for something. After a moment, she fixed her eyes on Professor Juniper's lab, and walked over to it. "This must be it..." She stepped inside, and the Professor noticed her at once.

"You must be the girl who called from Nacrene City," Professor Juniper said quickly as she walked over, "Theresa, right?" The girl nodded calmly in response.

"Alright, give me a moment to get everything out for you," The Professor added as she began to search, then pulled out a pokedex and three pokeballs. "Here's the pokedex you'll be testing, and you can choose one of these three pokemon; Snivy, Oshawott, or Tepig."

Theresa contemplated for a moment, before picking up Oshawott's pokeball. "May I have this one?"

"Of course," Professor Juniper replied cheerfully, and the girl smiled a bit. "You can nickname him, if you like."

Theresa thought this over, before making her decision. "I think I'll call him Blade. Since he uses that shell for a blade, and all." Juniper nodded her approval, and Theresa stowed away the pokeball and pokedex.

"Thanks again for offering to help test the pokedex," Professor Juniper said happily, "I was really starting to get worried, since I hadn't found a tester, and it's only a month before I give one to a few people from here."

Theresa nodded in that same calm way again. "Of course, Professor. And, thank you for letting me have a pokemon. It really means a lot to me."

As the professor smiled back, and Theresa turned and left the lab with a wave, before stopping at the exit of the town.

"So, this is where my quest begins..." She murmured to no one in particular, "But, by the time it is done, no one in Unova will be able to forget the name of Theresa Touko!" And with these final words, she took off...

* * *

The day had arrived. At this time there were two teens, one being 14 years old, had brown hair, and an almost ridiculous grin on his face. The other teen was 15, had black hair with a stubborn cowlick on top, and wore glasses. They both stood in front of a wrapped present placed on a table inside the room; the writing on the note tied to it was proof enough that it was from Professor Juniper.

"Man I can't believe it! We can have our own pokemon!" To say the brown haired boy was excited was obviously an understatement.

The other boy beside him merely rolled his eyes but then made a much calmer smile back. "Of course Blake, I've even heard it from the professor... though I wonder... " he look toward the stairs that led up to the room. "What's keeping Bianca?"

Then suddenly right at that moment a blond girl wearing mostly orange and white with a green hat and bag came running up the stairs. "Am I late again? I'm so sorry!" the girl, presumably to be Bianca, had quickly added a few fast bows to her apology. "So-ooo-orry Blake! Cheren!"

The glasses-wearing boy, identified as Cheren, sighed and shook his head. "Bianca...even throughout the ten years I've known you..."

Blake immediately interrupted him. "Yeah yeah Cheren! Come on! I know we're ALL excited to see the starters!"

Bianca piped up in agreement. "That's right! Those cute little pokemon are waiting for us to bring them out! Since this is Blake's house, he can get first pick!"

Cheren looked at Blake for a moment, noticing Blake's grin growing wider. "...Naturally."

The three teens opened the gift box, containing three pokeballs, their red tops revealing the currently miniature starters.

Blake immediately pulled out the pokeball with Oshawott inside. "I choose this little guy!" He said as he released the otter from its ball, which squeaked its species name as a greeting.

Bianca chose the pokeball containing the fire starter, known as Tepig. She also let it out and happily cuddled the piglet, which made a surprised squeal before it softly make oinking sounds in happiness.

This left Cheren with Snivy, the reptilian grass starter. But he seemed happy enough with it and gave it a few pats after releasing it just like his two friends.

"Hey Blake!" Bianca suddenly said excitedly. "Let's have a battle with our new pokemon!"

"Actually Bianca, that hardly seems like.." Cheren started to interrupt.

"Oh come on Cheren! They have to battle to get stronger anyway. Surely these little baby pokemon can't mess up a room that much!" Bianca continued in order to cut off Cheren and looked pleadingly at Blake trying to convince him. "Please?"

"Um... ok. Why not? …...Just as long as my room doesn't turn out TOO bad..." Blake answered hesitantly, at which Cheren slapped a hand to his face in slight frustration.

Approximately less than ten minutes later, Blake's room was covered in Pokemon paw prints, everything on his computer desk was scattered onto the floor, and even his big screen plasma TV was drastically... shifted.

"What did I say?" Cheren said matter-of-factly as Blake looked around and ran to different corners of his destroyed room in shock.

"Um...sorry?" Bianca apologized lamely.

"HA HA YES! MY WII STILL WORKS!"

* * *

**Hey there readers. This is actually only one of the authors working on this story. But I'm sure that all you Pokemon-loving people out there will appreciate this unique twist to the games. It's still relevant isn't it?**

**Anyways, feel free to review. I encourage it. And I hope you stick around. The author notes will get more interesting as well as the story goes on.**


	2. Chance Encounter

**Here we go... just so you new readers can get right into the plot. Everything that was skipped may be revisited at another time, but the focus wasn't to linger too long to write about every detail in the game. For now, enjoy!**

* * *

Through the dark maze of trees and brush known as Pinwheel Forest, a trainer with brown hair and wearing a mostly blue jacket was headed to Castelia City. After almost a week, leaving him behind Cheren and Bianca in progress, he had finally defeated Lenora of Nacrene City in a gym battle. The trainer was none other than Blake, with three pokeballs at his belt.

Soon, a Venipede caught his eye and he grinned, sending out his starter. "Go Oshawott! Use Water Gun!" Blake watched as the otter quickly followed his order, then threw a great ball, capturing the Venipede. He picked up the ball admiring it, then gave the Oshawott an appreciative pat on the head.

Suddenly, several angry sounding cries echoed from the surrounding forest, and countless wild bug pokemon uncharacteristically began to come out and close in around Blake, not looking very happy.

Blake's eyes widened at the sight of all the pokemon. "Oh...um.. hey..." he started nervously. "Sorry..uh...did you all know this Venipede?" A drop of sweat ran down his face as he had a finger curiously pointed to the ball containing the bug.

The pokemon continued to close around the trainer tighter, glaring at Blake viciously, and making several threatening sounds. Very soon they had him completely surrounded, leaving no escape route whatsoever.

"Uh okay! Have your friend back!" Blake said, fearful of what large swarm of bugs could possibly do to him. He quickly released the Venipede completely, rendering its pokeball dead and useless. "Yeah there you go! Now we're good!" Blake quickly glanced around the swarm.

A few of the group happily welcomed back their friend, but most continued to slowly come closer, apparently not satisfied.

"Uh...OSHAWOTT! WATER GUN!" Blake quickly called out, who immediately sprayed more water.

The Pokemon hit by the attack backed off, making a path out of the swarm. The boy took this chance to snatch up his Oshawott into his arms and run for his life. Quickly, more bugs replaced the patch in the group, then all of them began to chase Blake, launching random attacks every couple seconds.

Just then, a POWERFUL explosion of fire was launched at all the wild bugs. The whole swarm swiftly fled, crying in surprise and pain. Finally the brush rustled as another sort of Pokemon hopped out. It had a furry cream-colored body and two orange ears pointed up in a V-shape. It let out a little satisfied squeak before looking at Blake curiously.

"W-woah!" Blake said at the appearance of his surprise savior and looked down at it. "Well... hey little guy... thanks for saving me back there." The trainer took out his pokedex and scanned the little Pokemon before putting it away again. "Never even heard of a Victini before, so now... I think it's time I catch you!" He let his Oshawott down to the ground, and it went into a battle ready position, the scalchop on its chest held in one of its paws.

The trainer's words did not seem to please the Victini and it immediately used a powerful Thunderbolt attack to instantly knock out the starter. Then, before Blake had time to express his shock at its power, it also released a restrained Flame Burst attack at Blake out of spite.

Blake immediately yelled out and threw off his jacket in panic, trying to stop the fire going on it. He finally did so, but not soon enough for the jacket. "...You know what? Fine. First you fry my starter, then you ruin my jacket. I hope whoever you get caught by goes through the same thing." He huffed, still peeved at losing the clothing article despite also being thankful he wasn't hurt.

The creature cackled with glee, but was suddenly cut off when an imposing female voice suddenly rang out of the forest.

"VICTINIIIII!" At once a girl, looking quite annoyed, climbed out of the undergrowth. "Darn it Victini! What have I told you about attacking trainers and setting people on fire?" she chastised, the Pokemon simply hung its head low, but in mock shame and still smirking.

"...I just know that thing isn't listening to you..." Blake piped up, before returning his unconscious Oshawott to its ball.

"I know..." The girl answered unhappily before returning the Victini to its pokeball as well. She walked over to Blake calmly. "Are you alright? I'm sorry Victini attacked you like that. Here." The girl pulled out a max revive and offered it to him.

Blake was momentarily surprised by the offer and slowly accepted it, putting the item in his bag. "Uh..thanks. So what's your name?"

"Theresa," She answered, "What's yours?"

The teen grinned. "The name's Blake. Nice to meet you Theresa!"

Theresa shrugged. "Same to you, I suppose." She thought for a moment before speaking again. "You just came from Nacrene, right? I heard some guy stopped a bunch of Team Plasma morons from stealing the dragon skull from the museum... Happen to know who that was?"

"Oh so you've heard about that huh?" Blake said with slight sheepishness. "Well...that was actually me."

The girl blinked at him in surprise. "YOU?! Somehow I find that hard to believe... Well, how about this? I heard the person also had a pokedex, a lot like this one." With these words she pulled out her own, which seemed to be an older looking model than Blake's, but was instantly recognizable nonetheless. "If you have one too, that'll make it a bit more believable."

Blake shrugged and pulled out his pokedex again. "Believe me now then?"

Theresa peered at the pokedex for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I suppose it's possible. Besides, those Team Plasma grunts are idiots anyway. A preschooler with a Magikarp could beat one. And... I guess this means you're from Nuvema. Professor Juniper mentioned that she was going to give out three more when she handed me mine. I was curious who those others were." She shrugged again after this.

"Ok then..." responded Blake. "Well... what's your goal for your journey?"

Theresa smiled a bit at Blake's question. "I was wondering when you were going to ask. You see, I plan on becoming the Pokemon Champion of Unova. I'm pretty close too." She pulled out her badges, revealing seven of the required eight. "Only the dragon gym in Opelucid is left."

"Huh. Obviously I'm hardly that far..." Blake said with some embarrassment, before an idea made him perk back up. "But hey, we're pretty much going the same way then.. aren't we? Why not travel together?"

Theresa considered the offer for a long moment. "I suppose you can't be completely pathetic if you managed to get back the dragon skull... So, alright. It works for me."

Blake was taken aback and absolutely silent for a long moment at her answer. "...Pathetic?"

Theresa simply shrugged in response, and this earned more silence from Blake.

* * *

**Theresa you jerk. XD Luckily for her that won't deter Blake too much. He's too optimistic for the chance of making another friendship to be like that.**

**A little background info just to recap, yes it did take me forever to beat Lenora and her cheating team of Herdier and Watchog. And no, I didn't resort to catching a Throh, I wanted to beat her without a fighting-type on my team. In other words, Blake wasn't too lucky in trying to find a Throh, leaving him to stay in Nacrene for a week. At least he was around long enough to save the dragon skull!**

**That's enough out of me. Stay tuned readers!**


	3. Hidden Ambitions

The two trainers arrived at Castelia to an awe-inspiring sight. Skyscrapers, their tops hidden by clouds, towered above them and numerous ships sat in the harbors, ready to be brought out to sea.

"Alright then!" Blake said, pumped up with excitement, then turned to his companion. "So Theresa, how about we look around after getting our teams checked up?"

Theresa shrugged. "Sounds fine to me. I've been here before obviously, but I didn't take the time to check out everything."

"Cool!" Blake answered back to her before spotting the city's Pokemon Center from afar. He started walking over there, not only intending to get his party looked over, but also check his stock on healing items.

Theresa followed after him, thinking very much the same, though she'd never let HIM know that.

Shortly after the two stepped out of the building, a voice rang loudly toward them.

"Blake! Heey Blake!"

They both turned and Theresa just stared as Blake's face turned into a grin at the blond running up to them.

"Hey Bianca." Blake said. "How have you been?"

"Good!" Bianca cheerfully responded before looking at Theresa. "And who's your new friend?"

"We're not friends." Theresa said sharply, apparently not amused. "And it's Theresa."

Bianca looked at Blake a moment, who shrugged and quietly informed the blond that he had only just met her in Pinwheel Forest. Immediately after, she turned back to Theresa. "Well as you already know, I'm Bianca! And any friend Blake makes is a friend of mine!" The blond made a wide smile.

Theresa rolled her eyes as Blake piped in. "Speaking of pals, you wouldn't happen to know where Cheren is would you?"

Bianca thought for a moment. "Actually... I think the last time I saw him, he was headed toward the gym. I had wanted to stay behind a bit to get some more practice... And I still want to a bit before I take my turn to challenge it..."

Theresa turned away and forced herself to continue seeming apathetic towards the conversation. Truthfully, she was getting more annoyed by the moment, and was tempted to lash out at what she saw as the source of it.

"Hey as long as you go when you're ready Bianca." Blake said. "As for me, I change my mind about exploring. I wanna go for the gym challenge. I think I'm ready."

"Yeah, right." Theresa snorted at his sudden cockiness. "You're about as ready as if you were about to go fight the Elite Four."

"Oh just you wait!" retorted Blake. "I'll beat Burgh in one shot! No need for rematches this time around!"

"This time?" inquired Theresa. Considering the way he said that, she really hoped she hadn't chose to travel with a total LOSER for a trainer...

Bianca just watched the two, a slight bit worried at the unfriendly vibes she was getting from Theresa, but figured it was nothing and just her imagination. "Anyway... to get to the gym, just keep going straight from here and go down the last street you see along the way. Okay?"

"You got it!" And so Blake, determined to prove his previous words true, quickly ran off.

"Idiot." muttered a rather irritated Theresa as she trudged after him, not bothering to keep pace. She was sure it would just be a total massacre for his team anyway.

Blake skidded to a stop at the building and had his eyes wide open in surprise at who was standing there.

The black-haired boy gave Blake an icy stare in return through his glasses, completely covered in something opaque and yellow that was slowly dripping off of him. Then he finally spoke... "Well... under normal circumstances, I would have voiced how pleasant it is to see you again Blake."

Blake took a few moments to register what was going on. "Uh... yeah. Same here Cheren. What happened to you, man?"

"It's nothing." Cheren flatly answered. "I just beat Burgh. And his sense of humor is... interesting." He paused, making a sound of disgust. "But I'll... talk to you later alright? I really need to go change." With that, Cheren went off his own way.

Blake held a look of confusion on his face. If the reason Cheren was covered in honey was because Burgh was another puzzle-loving gym leader, he wasn't looking forward to his turn. Remembering that he left Theresa behind, he decided to stand and wait for her. Besides, then she would have the chance to watch Blake beat Burgh and prove himself as a good trainer.

A seemingly long while later, Theresa finally caught up to Blake, still thoroughly annoyed at him for running off so fast in the first place and showing that annoyance.

At her expression, Blake gave a nervous grin back. "Uh... hey."

"...Seems you're actually patient enough to decide to stop and wait for someone then." Theresa said with a sarcastic smile. "Do you have Durants in your pants!? If you're so excited why don't you keep running ahead to beat the rest of the Gym Leaders- and I'll just catch up!" She walked past him, opened the doors to the gym, and started to go in, not even looking back to check if he was following.

And almost immediately someone walked smack into her. The man quickly made a few startled steps back, fumbling in his hands the cell phone he nearly dropped.

"Oh! So sorry about that..." The man had medium-length wavy hair and wore mostly green and red. He looked at Theresa and for some reason seemed uncomfortable. "...Theresa wasn't it? It's certainly a... pleasure... to see you again." He averted his eyes to Blake. "I'm guessing the boy over there is yet another challenger?"

"You bet!" Blake exclaimed.

Theresa stepped back so she was next to Blake again, glaring at the man of all reactions before recognizing him. "Oh, it's you." Theresa mumbled. "Well, let's get this over with- Blake, battle him. Before I snatch your Pokemon to do it myself for you."

The gym leader, Burgh, stared back at her incredulously. "Actually... no can do unfortunately." He interrupted, just before Blake could respond. "Someone I know just called a few minutes ago and apparently a situation came up that requires my assistance." Then he noticed Blake sulk a bit. "But not a worry Blake. As soon as it's resolved we can get right to your challenge. Feel free to come along." And with that the man was off.

Blake took a glance at Theresa. "So... let's go? The quicker this gets done, the sooner we can move on, uh... right?"

"You definitely read my mind." Theresa grumbled, then stormed off to follow Burgh.

As the group finally made their way to one of the piers in Castelia City, they were able to see that a girl with dark hair tied up in a large hairstyle of two pigtails out of a giant ponytail trying to comfort a familiar blond wearing a green beret.

"Woah it can't be...!' Blake started to say before racing over.

Theresa followed Blake, seeing the girl from before- 'Bianca.. Was it?' Theresa thought. 'Sheesh, what's all the crying about?'

"Calm down Bianca, Burgh will be here in a second, and he'll help get your Pokemon back.." The girl said, she turned to see Burgh, and two other people with him. "Oh! Burgh, you're finally here!"

"Yeah sure, what exactly happened? If you want us to help you, you have to tell us the details." Theresa said, placing her hands on her hips. The girl with dark hair looked questioningly at Burgh, most likely confused as to who these two were.

Burgh finally stepped forward toward the blond. "Miss, could you please tell us exactly what went on?" He smiled reassuringly.

"Oh it was awful!" Bianca started to explain after calming down just enough to speak coherently. "So I was just walking around the city.. when some of those Team Plasma people showed up and..." She took another few moments to let more sobs out before composing herself again. "They took my Munna!"

Blake patted his friend on the shoulder. "So that's what it is..." Then the boy got himself fired up with a look of determination. "But don't worry Bianca! We'll find those guys and give them what's coming! You'll have your Munna back in no time!"

"Team PLASMA!?" Theresa asked, getting very agitated. "Which way did they go, Bianca!?"

"...I don't know..." Bianca answered.

"Ahem. Of course, even then, they could be anywhere by now." Burgh piped in. "Searching for even a group of people in a city like this is like searching for a needle in a haystack..."

Suddenly there was the sound of a pair of feet skidding to a stop near the group, at this everyone turned to see a guy dressed in knightly attire of Team Plasma.

"Uh..." The plasma grunt looked down at his wrist to check the time on a nonexistent watch. "Look at the time! Gotta run!" He sped off.

"After him everyone!" Burgh said.

Everyone entered the Team Plasma headquarters swiftly after battling the two cowardly grunts standing guard. However... the place didn't look sinister at all. It was like any normal building with a counter for the receptionist. Except, there was no receptionist, but a group of Team Plasma members by the elevator door, and two men in different attire from the rest.

It was none other than Ghetsis and his goons. One of them was holding a little pink Pokemon that was likely Bianca's Munna.

"It seems they have found us. But look what we have here, two Gym Leaders-Iris and Burgh. For what purpose may I ask?" An old man exclaimed, wearing similar clothes to Ghetsis. He seemed to be a part of Team Plasma as well. "You're not planning on stopping our organization, are you? You may have found us but it does not mean we shall stop aiding Sage Ghetsis, and the King!"

"What the hell are you blabbing on about old man!?" Theresa yelled.

Iris was by Theresa's side, a determined frown on her face. "And what are you getting by kidnapping other people's Pokemon?" she chimed.

"Kidnapping? Oh heavens no... that is far from what describes the goals of Team Plasma." Ghetsis replied smoothly. "Team Plasma aims to liberate all Pokemon from humans, especially from those that are incompetent..." He coldly looked at Bianca, who shrunk back from the glare and insult. "... And cruel" The man made an equally cold glare at Theresa.

Theresa growled angrily at Ghetsis, not even flinching. She glared back, just as cold.

"Hey! No one talks about my friends like that! I don't know where you got that idea about Theresa, but I bet it's far from what you think. And Bianca's a great trainer!" Blake called out in the defense of his companions. "So back off and give her Pokemon back!"

"... Let me put it like this, Ghetsis." Theresa was getting more fed up with Team Plasma by the second. "Either you let that Pokemon go right now and clear out, or I'm going to let out an old friend of yours from Liberty Island who's just dying to see you. So I suggest listening unless you want a very powerful, very legendary Pokemon's Fire Blast in your face."

"Hmph. Very well." Ghetsis said simply after a moment. "You wish for a second chance with your Pokemon? You may have it." He turned to the grunt holding the pink creature, making a look conveying that the command couldn't be refused or argued. "Release the Munna."

The Team Plasma grunt let go of said Pokemon and it immediately flew straight to its trainer. "Muuuuuun~!" it exclaimed, tackling Bianca in a spree of joy.

"Ohhh... Munna. You're finally back! I'm so glad..." Bianca whispered, hugging her Munna tightly almost as if they were going to snatch it away again. "I promise I'll protect you. I won't let anyone ever take you away again!"

"Muuuunnaaaaa." it replied.

"Well... Fare thee well." The sage mumbled. And as soon as that was said, a Team Plasma grunt quickly threw a mysterious ball to the ground, and the entire room was filled with smoke; temporarily blinding everyone.

"Hey-!" Iris exclaimed, but not before coughing with everyone else.

"We'll stop you Team Plasma! You'll see-" Theresa said, coughing afterwards, using her hands to try and swat away the smoke.

While they were all left there in confusion and agitation, the organization members had ran as far as they could, the smoke ball successfully aiding them in their devious escape.

Theresa paced back and forth as she along with everyone stood outside the former "headquarters" of Team Plasma. "That stupid Team Plasma! Who do they think they are!? They're really out of their minds if they think that people are going to set their Pokemon free just like that! I mean, I would never release my Pokemon just because some retarded organization wants to liberate them for the so-called greater good!" She ranted. "MY Pokemon are LOYAL to me!" One of the pokeballs around her waist began to move, and soon enough a red flash sprung from it, and her Victini formed right in front of Theresa.

"Viiiiiiiiii!" Victini squeaked in agreement.

Bianca had been watching Theresa for a moment before finally taking a few timid steps toward her. "Um... Theresa...? Are you just more mad about the fact that you were called a cruel person? Not that I think you are- not at all."

Blake eyed the furry fire Pokemon warily before setting his eyes back on Theresa. "Yeah. Any idea where they could've gotten THAT idea?"

Theresa made a yet another glare, though a small one, at Bianca and aiming it at Blake for a moment too before looking away. "Don't you have a Gym Battle that you need to attend to?" She asked, changing the subject completely. "Or did you lose all your enthusiasm?"

"Quite right." Burgh finally spoke up, he and Iris having only been watching the exchange. "The issue of this Team Plasma is no small thing to be ignored, but for now nothing else can be done here. Bianca is reunited with her Munna, so the best thing to say is that for the moment... all is well. For everyone that wishes to watch, come now because a battle awaits."

"Sounds great!" Bianca exclaimed.

Iris laughed a bit, before finally taking her chance to speak up. "Yeah I wish I could see how that goes, just so I could get an idea of your potential while I can! But oh well, I have to get back to Opelucid City. Besides, places like Castelia aren't exactly my thing. See you when you guys make it there!" Iris quickly ran off, a few of the group returning her wave goodbye, before she vanished.

Now noticing her chance, Bianca suddenly scooped up Theresa's Victini into her arms. "Is this the Pokemon you were talking about before Theresa? It's SOOOO adorable!" She cuddled the little creature. Theresa's Victini did nothing, only having a blank and confused expression, before the furry blue eyed Pokemon rolled its eyes looking annoyed. Apparently it didn't know whether to burn her to a crisp, or just simply try to wiggle out of her grip.

Theresa did not look amused either at the blond hugging one of her Pokemon. "Okay. Enough cuddly bear time. I want to see this Gym Battle get done and over with-!" Theresa said in an exasperated tone, ignoring Bianca's comment on her Victini.

They all walked to the gym, which was conveniently right across the street. Bianca bounced happily with the creature in her arms, while the others walked calmly, though Blake held confidence in his step.

Just then Theresa turned at a shape she saw at the corner of her eye and glared at a building next to the gym. In front of it was a guy with black hair, dark green eyes, and even from afar seemed to radiate a smug and arrogant air about him.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." Theresa said suddenly before she started toward the stranger, who looked up when he noticed her and immediately took off running. With Theresa tailing after him, they both quickly vanished from sight.

Bianca watched Theresa as she went, blinking curiously. The legendary stuck in her arms just looked disgruntled at the fact that her trainer left her to be suffocated by Bianca's love of cute Pokemon.

Burgh was silent for a long moment, looking nervous. Then he averted his eyes to Blake, speaking in a quiet tone, as if he wanted it to be private. "... I need you to know something important Blake. About Theresa. I know you think she might be a better person than she seems, that she might warm up to you and your friends as you get to know her and travel together. But there is much more that you need to be aware of."

Blake looked confused at that, but nodded for him to continue on.

"Obviously as a gym leader, I battled her once. And... she is very ambitious. A little ambition is always good... But with her, the amount she has is dangerous." Burgh took another glance in the direction Theresa had disappeared before making his last statement. "Ghetsis wasn't far from the truth in describing her as cruel... As far as what lengths she would go to in order to achieve her goals anyway..."

Just as soon as Burgh finished, Theresa returned and momentarily gave the man a suspicious look. She only shrugged, but it was almost as if she knew he was talking about her... "Alright, let's go in. The less time this takes, the faster we can get out of this overpopulated train wreck of a city." She looked back at Burgh, more mockingly than anything. "No offense to you, of course."

".. None taken I suppose." Burgh responded uncertainly.

And so Blake, Theresa, and Bianca followed the leader into the gym...


	4. A Buggy Gym Battle

**Hey there everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story as it unfolds. If there's something not quite right with the writing style, I'm sure future chapters will be a smoother read for you guys. It's a little shaky trying to balance out different styles.**

**Read and review! Reviews make everything better!**

* * *

"Now begins the battle between the Gym Leader, Burgh. And his challenger, Blake!" announced the referee.

"You can have the honor of going first, my friend." Burgh smiled.

But Blake knew otherwise. "No thanks." he countered. "I like to be second in sending out my Pokémon."

"If you insist- Leavanny! You're in charge!" Burgh exclaimed, sending out his grassy friend. The Leavanny held a look of determination and arrogance on its face.

Blake thought carefully about which Pokémon to use, before making his decision and grabbing a ball from his belt. "Alright! Liza! You're up first!" He sent out his Herdier, who took on a battle stance. The canine growled, the fur on the female's back spiking up in intimidation. The Leavanny momentarily lost its composure before putting the mask of confidence back up.

"Trainers! You may start your battle!" The referee exclaimed.

"Leavanny! Start this off by using Swords Dance!" The said Leavanny began to dance, using its legs to move in rhythm and providing a focus for sharpening the leaves on its arms for more power.

"Liza! Work Up and then go for it with Crunch!" Liza barked, snorting out a puff of air and glowing red before charging at the bug, teeth bared and crackling with dark energy. The Leavanny frowned, and so did his trainer.

"Leavanny, use Swords Dance again for a dodge." Burgh commanded.

"Leaaaaaaa!" The Leavanny exclaimed, leaping out of the way of the dog and began dancing around the Herdier. Liza skidded to a stop confused at the fast movements around her, watching at the Leavanny, cautious and wary of an attack.

"Liza! Stand your ground!" Blake exclaimed, wondering what the Leavanny was going to do next. _'Atthis rate, this Leavanny will be able to take down Liza with just one or two attacks and we'll look like a joke! I have to do something good and fast!' _Blake thought, then opened his mouth to call out an attack.

However, Burgh beat him to it with his own strategy. "Swagger!" The tall insect glowed for a second, and then let out a cloud of red smoke into the canine's face.

Immediately being sent into a rage from breathing in the cloud, Liza bristled and growled viciously at the bug.

"Liza!" Blake exclaimed, feeling like an idiot for not doing anything about that move. But he soon frowned, juggling whether he should take the risk that Liza would hurt herself trying to retaliate with another attack.

"Now, Leavanny! Leaf Blade!"

"Leaaaaaa- vaaaaaaaaaa!" The Leavanny exclaimed, its arms glowing, charging forward to deliver the blow.

"Liza! Dodge it and use Take Down!" Blake exclaimed, hoping she would listen.

Liza's ears twitched, eyes red from angry confusion, and charged forward before leaning to the side at the last minute, the leaf passing over her head, and rammed its body while the Leavanny was still off balance, sending it to the ground. "Crunch!"

"Counter with Poison Jab!"

At the command, one of the Pokémon's leaves glowed the sickly purple of poison and was jabbed into the dog's side, who let the bug's other leaf go as she was knocked back with a yelp.

The canine shook herself, struggling to get up, her head cleared a little at feeling the sting of the poison. The Herdier faltered a bit while standing, growling like a mad dog.

While those two battled, Theresa and Bianca were watching it unfold from the sidelines. Bianca was cheering Blake on, while Theresa sat there in utter boredom. She wasn't the only one that was annoyed; her Victini was still situated in Bianca's loving death grip, with a similar expression as its trainer's.

"Come on, Liza, hang in there!" Blake exclaimed, trying to bring back the canine's focus. "You can do this! Keep a better watch on it and use Crunch!" Liza locked her eyes on the insect, then the dog barked, charging forward once more.

"Leavanny, Leaf blade!" Burgh exclaimed. His Pokémon did as it was told, charging forward as well.

"Dodge all of its attacks!" Liza managed to evade all of the swipes that the Leavanny swung, but felt even more tired. The canine lunged for the Crunch attack and met with only empty air when the agile bug sidestepped.

"Finish this with X-Scissor!"

"Leavaaaaa!" the insects exclaimed, slashing forward. The crossed X-shaped blades of energy collided into Liza and sent her to the ground with a loud thud.

Liza was immobilized for a bit; she tried getting up, but her efforts were beaten as she fell to the ground and fainted.

"Herdier is no longer able to battle! Leavanny is the victor!"

Blake sighed and made a sad smile. "You did good Liza. The powerhouse of the team like always." He returned the Herdier into her ball and set it back onto his belt. "Time for my ace in the hole! Powder! You're UP!" Blake yelled, holding out a Heal Ball and sending out his Tranquill; who emerged from the ball already airborne. "Powder" flapped her wings and made a loud chirp into the air, ready to fight.

"A flying type, eh?" Burgh inquired, though not incredibly impressed. "Obviously quite a type advantage. Leavanny! Swords Dance once more!" Burgh exclaimed. Leavanny obliged, doing as it was told.

"Powder, Air Cutter!" Blake ordered.

"Priiiii!" Powder went, then flapped her wings to let loose a flurry of blue disks.

Burgh smirked slightly, knowing what to do. "Use Protect!" Burgh exclaimed.

"What!?" Blake said in shock, not knowing it knew that move.

Leavanny made a blue barrier in front of himself which disintegrated right after it served its purpose.

"Prrraaaa!" Powder screeched, flapping her wings and staring at the Leavanny.

"You may have the advantage Blake, but my Leavanny comes prepared!"

"Yeah? Quick! Grab Leavanny and toss it into the air!" Powder swooped toward Leavanny, swiftly grabbing the insect in her talons and using her momentum to throw it up.

"GOOOOO BLAAAAKE!" Bianca yelled, cheering from the sides like a fan.

"It's nice that you're cheering him on, but can YOU YELL SOMEWHERE ELSE!? I for one like having a sense of hearing," Theresa growled.

"Oops. Sooorryyyy!" Bianca apologized.

"OK Powder! Now Quick Attack then Air Cutter again!" The bird tackled into Leavanny to knock up higher and then flapped her wings, sending another flurry of discs. Helpless to move anywhere while airborne, Leavanny took the brunt of the attack and fell to the ground, its eyes in dizzy swirls.

"Leavanny is unable to battle, Tranquill is the winner!" The referee exclaimed.

"YEAAAH! That was awesome Powder!"

"Very well. I better send out my next Pokémon. Whirlipede, go!" Burgh exclaimed.

"You got this easy Powder." Blake said to his bird. "You can do this."

"Priii!" She chirped.

"Powder! Quick Attack!"

"Not so fast- Whirlipede, Screech and then Rollout!" Whirlipede frowned and then opened its mouth to make a horrible trill. Powder stopped in mid-air, startled from the loud sound. Whirlipede spun around at high speed in a circle under the pigeon before launching itself towards Powder. The impact sent the bird painfully into the ground.

"Powder!" Blake exclaimed.

"Whirlipede! Continue to use rollout!" Burgh exclaimed.

"Powder- Use Quick Attack this time to dodge!" Powder made a powerful cry, flapping her wings furiously while flying up and darting around in the air. The Whirlipede seemed to frown, but as soon as it ceased attacking, the insect was assaulted by the discs of another Air Cutter attack.

Whirlipede rolled back, its eyes closed in pain. Powder took this chance to use Air Cutter again while it was down, then tackled it one more time. Whirlipede rolled back once more, down for the count.

"Whirlipede is unable to battle. Tranquill is the winner!"

"Yeaaah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Blake yelled, pigeon Pokemon flew over and landed by Blake, face adorned with a happy, yet also tired look.

"WOOOO!" Bianca yelled, accidentally letting Victini fall to the ground as Bianca lifted her arms into the air with glee. Theresa simply slapped a hand to her face, wondering how much longer she would have to endure watching Blake's apparent incompetence and the seemingly immature blond sitting beside her.

"It's not over yet Blake, but I'm sure you knew that… My final Pokémon you now must face is- Crustle!" He exclaimed, sending out the crab like Pokémon. It snapped its large mighty pincers, ready for battle. On its back was a squared shaped rock, seemingly hard and rough, looking as though it was made from different layers of the earth. "Crustle- You know the deal- This round will be easy for you, considering your advantage."

Blake frowned. 'This won't end well for Powder…' Blake thought. 'I just have Oshawott left, and though he'll have the type advantage, I better have Powder wear this guy down as much as possible.'

"Come on Blake! You may have a type disadvantage, but you can still win!" Bianca yelled.

Theresa rolled her eyes and groaned. "If you're going to keep cheering on for this idiot, why not tell him to speed it up while he's at it?"

"Crustle- Smack Down!"

"Crrrruuuuuuuh!" It said, smashing a claw into the floor, before charging power into the rock and throwing it at Powder.

"Powder! Detect!" Powder's eyes glinted light blue, and at that moment, it sidestepped the flying stone with ease. The Crustle continued to throw stones at Powder, but the bird evaded all of them with lightning quick movements and retaliated with another relentless Air Cutter flurry.

The Crustle faltered from the attack, but recovered quickly as soon as the bird ceased its attack and threw another stone. Powder didn't have enough time to concentrate on dodging it and the stone slashed across her side, making her stumble in the air. Vulnerable.

"Crustle. Now! Strength!" Crustle crawled forward, leaping into the air with surprising agility and slammed its claws down onto Powder. She cried in pain, and there was dust around where she got knocked into the ground. The Crustle crawled back in front of Burgh, who was smirking. Blake was speechless at seeing Powder had definitely fainted.

"Tranquill is unable to battle! Crustle is the winner!"

Blake simply smiled. "You did an awesome job, Powder. Rest easy, girl." Returning her to the Poke Ball; he looked down at it before putting it away. _'It's your turn buddy...'_ He grabbed the last ball on his belt. "Oshawott, come on out!" He exclaimed, sending out his final Pokemon.

The little otter Pokemon emerged, his big eyes wide in curiosity. He quickly figured out it was a Gym Battle and grabbed his scalchop, slashing the air.

"Pft. Little runt's got a lot to learn, trying to look tough in front of something that's probably 3 times bigger than itself..." Theresa mumbled. "It has guts alright..."

"You got this Oshawott! Show him what you can do!" Blake grinned.

Oshawott mirrored his trainer's expression, equally determined. "Oshawott!" it squeaked.

"Don't let your guard down Crustle." Burgh said. "No matter how small your opponent seems..."

"Crustle!" The Crustle simply replied.

"Ready? Start this off with an Earthquake!" Burgh said.

"CRURUUUUH!" The Crustle said, slamming both of its claws with the strength of three Cranidos. Everyone was caught off guard from the power of the quake. Oshawott was sent tumbling onto his back and the arena was now a mess of cracks and rocky outcroppings. Oshawott quickly leaped back up to his feet.

"Oshawott! Razor Shell!" Blake exclaimed. The otter charged forward, his scalchop glowing in preparation for executing the attack.

"Crustle, dodge!"

As the Oshawott slashed with the signature move of his evolution line, the Crustle jumped back from it with ease.

Oshawott opened his mouth to attack with Water Gun, spitting out small spouts of water that looked almost too weak.

Crustle withdrew into its shell, which made the attack mostly harmless, then with its legs, propelled itself flying towards Oshawott.

Oshawott barely had time to move. He was able to leap away, but the edge of Crustle's rocky shell clipped it. The otter stumbled and nearly fell at landing, sharp pain emitting from its leg, but forced itself to stand.

"Come on Oshawott! I know you can do this! You're strong!" Blake said to encourage the little Pokemon.

Oshawott frowned, putting away the scalchop back on its stomach momentarily, glaring at the Crustle.

"Now- Crustle- Let's start to finish things off with Shell Smash!" Burgh yelled.

"You too Oshawott! Focus Energy!"

The little Pokemon squeaked in reply and once again set itself into a battle stance, glowing blue momentarily before flexing the aches and kinks out of its body.

"CRUUUUUH!" Crustle yelled, its body glowing crimson, while its shell began glowing white. Red cracks of energy formed on the hard shell before it broke apart into glowing white shards. The remains of Crustle's shell continuously floated around it, ready for augmenting its next attack.

"Now! Oshawott- WATER GUN!" Blake yelled.

"OSHAWAAA!" It exclaimed, having more energy for the attack, letting loose a more powerful Water Gun.

"Crustle! Dodge- and use Smack Down!" Burgh said. Crustle obeyed, once again leaping away from the spray and threw another stone with a mighty heft at Oshawott. The glowing pieces of its shell had combined into the rock this time, making it the size of a large boulder and almost impossible to dodge.

'_It's all over!' _Bianca thought closing her eyes.

_'No! It won't end like this!'_ Blake thought. "Oshawott! Use Razor Shell on it!" Blake yelled out, then looked undeterred when Oshawott looked back at his trainer in fear. "Come on, trust me on this!"

Oshawott nodded, taking his scalchop and stared in focus at the incoming projectile. Then guided by some instinct, slashed at a point in the boulder, which amazingly split apart from the blow. Oshawott was amazed at what it had done, was it from just using Focus Energy?

"Impressive-" Burgh laughed. "Splitting a rock like that with such precision and speed... amazing!"

"Now go for it Oshawott!" Blake said. Oshawott ran forward, slashing at the surprised and vulnerable looking Crustle. The shell-less crab stumbled back from the attack, one eye closed in frustration.

"Crustle-!" Burgh said. "Use Strength again!" Crustle jumped back up, ready to take the otter down.

But before the crab could land on top of it, the Oshawott opened its mouth once more to shoot another spray of water. Crustle was hit with the full impact of the super effective move and sent crashing back into the ground.

"Oshawott! Water gun one more time!" Blake exclaimed.

But instead, Oshawott, suddenly feeling a new surge of power, began charging a blue watery sphere from its mouth. In the blink of an eye, the otter fired the ball at Crustle, who was still trying to get back up. As soon as it made impact, the watery energy ball expanded into a bubble around the bug, before it exploded with a pop.

Crustle crumpled to the ground with a loud thud from the water attack, its eyes in dazed swirls.

"Crustle is unable to battle! Oshawott is the winner! The victory goes to Blake-!" The referee exclaimed.

Blake processed everything that happened, Oshawott learned a new move, Water Pulse, and it decided the match. He grinned from ear to ear, holding his arms out for the brave little Pokemon. " Ha ha! Oshawott you did it!" His starter jumped into his arms happily, not caring about how much it was hurt. "All three of you guys were awesome!" Blake ruffled the fur on the otter's head and made a quick look of appreciation down at the other two pokeballs on his belt.

"Thank you Crustle. You did very well." Burgh said, recalling back his Pokemon. Burgh walked over to Blake. "That was a battle well-fought. You and your team did an excellent job. For defeating me- I present to you- the Insect Badge of the Castelia Gym!"

"Alright!" Blake kept grinning, taking out his badge case from his bag and placing it in its proper place. "Three badges down, five to go!"

"Of course. Good show, kiddo. Congratulations." Burgh smiled back.

As soon as Bianca slightly got over her excitement and came up to personally congratulate him again on his victory, Blake started following her and a peeved Theresa out of the gym...

.. Only to get a sticky surprise once he casually passed over the seemingly grate near the entrance.

"Ack! What the-?!" Blake exclaimed, suddenly covered in some oozing substance that, judging by the taste, was definitely honey. He looked behind him to catch sight of Burgh, but the leader seemed to have already hid himself somewhere, enjoying his daily chuckle.

"Oh my!" Bianca giggled, surprised that there was a prank at all.

However, Theresa already knew about it and now found the joke a bit more amusing being on someone else rather than her. Not that anyone would ever have guessed it by her stoic expression.

Blake sighed and turned to his starter. "Little help here Oshawott?"

Oshawott stared curiously at his trainer and swiped a bit of the honey dripping off of Blake and sniffed it before taking a quick lick. Apparently it liked the sweet substance, because the otter licked its paw clean and continued eating the honey off of Blake happily, to his chagrin.

Suddenly, a huge, fearsome-looking Haxorus, apparently Theresa's Haxorus since it came from off her belt, materialized out of its ball and began to enthusiastically lick the honey-soaked trainer.

Bianca looked surprised and Blake yelped in shock. However, soon the poor guy settled with holding still to avoid contact with the dragon's head blades as he started getting covered in more Haxorus spit than honey.

Once she recovered from her own shock, Theresa also slapped a hand to her face, but let it be since the dragon-type didn't seem to be hurting him anyway.

"Okay okay! I'm clean! I'm clean I swear!" Blake yelled at the dragon after a few minutes, now completely covered in spit. His Oshawott was just standing to the side of him, satisfied with the honey it managed to get that the Haxorus didn't already get to.

The reptile didn't even seem to notice Blake's outcry, licking him a few more times. Then suddenly the huge dragon grinned and opened its jaws wide...

"DRACO!" snapped Theresa sharply, causing the large dragon-type to flinch and give her an annoyed look, jaws still wide open. Finally it lowered its head in resignation. "Return," muttered the agitated trainer as she returned "Draco" into its pokeball.

"... Um... by the way Theresa.." Bianca started, glancing around. "Do you know where your Pokemon went? The... furry one with the V on its head?"

"...Victini?" Blake went.

"Yeah that one!" exclaimed Bianca.

Theresa rolled her eyes. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," she replied. "But don't worry, she'll be back."

"GWAAAAAAHHH!"

The group looked to the direction of the random scream, confused. A very familiar person, to Blake and Bianca anyway, was running at top speed from an also familiar furry fire-type.

"There's the answer to your question, Bianca." Theresa sighed. "Now... VICTINIIII! QUIT TERRORIZING THE NERD POPULATION!"

* * *

**Poor guy, that Victini is a huge jerk seriously. Though I wish I knew what was up with that Haxorus. *shrug***

**Don't forget to review!**


	5. Bitter Rivalry

"You may be cute, but you're nothing but a meanie!"

The Victini just looked at Bianca and its other pursuers with a grin, a flicker of flame around its paws. Then the naughty little creature returned to chasing its victim around, flinging fireballs like a maniac.

"Bad Victini!" shouted Theresa furiously. "Very, very bad Victini!" At this point the Pokemon finally stopped and looked at its trainer, feigning innocence. "Oh no you don't! You know perfectly well that was bad! Now return!" At this, Theresa put the fire-type back into its pokeball, and clipped it onto her belt.

As soon as the furry terror was interrupted in chasing him, the teen that was being harassed stopped, looking back to witness his tormentor being put back into its ball. With a relieved sigh, especially at immediately recognizing Blake and Bianca, he came over to the group.

"Hey. Are you alright from all that?" Blake asked him with concern.

"Yeah! I really hope you didn't get hurt by that naughty little thing!" Bianca chimed in.

"Luckily I'm fine, thank you," their friend replied, who then turned his attention to Theresa. "So... that Pokemon was yours then..."

Theresa gave a slight nod. "Sorry about that. She's... well... not very nice. To say the least." She paused a moment, watching the newcomer. "... Why are you looking at me like that? Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to stare?"

The teen was silent for another moment, as if thinking, then his eyes narrowed at her. "I remember you now... Weren't you at Nuvema Town a little over a month ago?"

Blake was just as surprised as Bianca was, looking between the two. "You two met?"

"Apparently so." Theresa glanced at the boy distastefully. "Considering I don't recall what happened exactly, I'd say it wasn't particularly memorable."

"Not for you anyway. Considering you weren't the one on the ground." replied the glasses wearing teen.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have gotten in my way, nerd." It was clear from Theresa's unfriendly words and agitated glare that she had already decided this boy was a mere annoyance.

The nerd in question looked even more irritated thanks to the girl's increasing arrogance and hostility. "I have a name. It's Cheren."

Theresa raised an eyebrow. "Good for you. Isn't that a girl's name?"

Bianca tried to cut in before things got any hotter between Theresa and Cheren. "Oh come on guys! Can't we all just get along so we can all be friends?" The blond's optimism was obvious.

"You're right," said Theresa while grinning, but in a not-so-nice way. "It would have been an insult to call nerdboy here a girl... to GIRLS. Last time I checked, I was a lot tougher than some scrawny loser geek."

And at that, all patience was immediately lost to Cheren, who snapped off a pokeball from his belt. "I'm going to assume that nothing less than a battle will convince you otherwise."

"Uh.. Cheren?" Blake tried to pipe up. "As much as I don't like where this is going either, you might want to...!"

"A battle?" Theresa interrupted in reply, smirking coldly. "I like that idea. Watch close, nerd. You might just learn something." She cracked her knuckles and whipped out a pokeball. "I hope you're ready to get your butt kicked clear back to Nuvema."

They both took a few steps back from each other, leaving Blake and Bianca at the sidelines. Cheren, too furious with Theresa for not shutting up, tossed up his chosen pokeball and out materialized his Snivy.

"A Snivy?" Theresa didn't look impressed. "I knew you were pathetic, but that's just ridiculous. A Snivy? That's just an appetizer for a real Pokemon." She looked at the Pokemon sitting in it one more time, still holding that dark smirk.

"Cheren!" Blake shouted at his friend. "She has SEVEN badges!"

**"...WHAT?!"**

Theresa tossed the ball into the air...

"Go... DRACO!" All at once an enormous golden-plated Haxorus was towering over Cheren and his Snivy, glowering down at them as if they were brand new toys it couldn't wait to break.

Both trainer and Pokemon stared up at the abnormally large dragon-type in shock.

"... Oh dear... what did I let myself get into?" Cheren uttered almost helplessly.

"...Snivy...?" his starter 'replied' with.

"Let's get this over with," huffed Theresa. "Draco, Dragon Claw."

The Haxorus sneered and raised its huge claws, which started to glow. Then with a fearsome roar it swung at the tiny Snivy.

Frozen with fear, especially since it knew just as well as its trainer did that the battle would be very one-sided, the snake barely moved before the attack slammed full force into it.

Draco watched with fascination as his target was knocked flying, landing limply with a thud behind its trainer. Then the dragon-type's scarlet eyes focused on Cheren.

"Draco," said Theresa in a harsh warning tone, but she was ignored. In an instant the Haxorus lunged for Cheren, and in the next the unfortunate teen was dangling from its claws, high in the air. The dragon gave him a toothy grin.

To say Cheren was frightened for his life and that Blake and Bianca were afraid of what the dragon was planning to do with their pal was an understatement. Especially since all of their Pokemon combined would probably still be too weak to fight the Haxorus.

**"DRACO!"** Theresa's voice had risen to a sharp shout, and there was a flash of actual alarm in her eyes. "PUT HIM DOWN **NOW!**"

The dragon blinked at her in surprise, the terrified boy still dangling in its grip. Then without warning it finally submitted to the order and just dropped the kid, looking disappointed. Blake and Bianca were over by Cheren in an instant, who was in shock for a moment at being so crudely dropped onto the concrete.

Theresa slapped a hand to her face in frustration. "Not like that! For goodness sake!" She watched Cheren for a moment, then headed over to him. "... Are you okay..?"

"Still can't control that Haxorus, huh?" said a voice, which came from a young guy, right around their age range. The newcomer wore a red and black vest over a black T-shirt, jeans, black sneakers with yellow accents, and some sort of golden charm decorated with three red "gems" around his neck. He also had black hair, dark green eyes, and an unusually flat nose. "Even with seven badges? You're still just as pathetic as always. You even find little novices to pick on, since you know a real trainer would beat you without breaking a sweat."

Theresa glared at him, pure hostility in her blue-gray eyes. Draco mirrored her look, snarling at the boy hatefully. "That's rich," she responded, "Coming from you, Jake. Considering the only time you ever beat me was when I had only just gotten my first Pokemon. And for the record, HE was the one that challenged ME."

Jake stole a glance at Cheren. "Huh. I didn't think you looked that dumb. Guess I was mistaken."

Cheren had already recovered enough to stand and scoop up his still unconscious Snivy. "The more appropriate word would be 'reckless,' not 'dumb'. But honestly I never met anyone before Theresa that was able to get on my nerves so much."

Both ignored the nerd's answer and Theresa glared at Jake coldly. "Just go away Jake. This is MY battle. I suggest you just go before your nose has another unfortunate... accident." She clenched a fist for emphasis, but Jake just sneered.

Bianca watched the newcomer a moment, then took a few steps forward, still trying to be friendly since no one else was. "Um... hi! I'm Bianca! Can't we all be nice to each other here?"

Jake raised an eyebrow at the blond. "Well, if the crazy girl of Nacrene over there is a part of that, then no, we're not going to get along." He made an irritated gesture at Theresa. "The girl's INSANE. you all must be crazy if you don't mind her being around. She's a public menace."

"A public menace?" Theresa glared at him. "If you hate me so much, why do you keep popping up everywhere I go?"

"I could say the same thing to you," snorted the boy. "Because it's not intentional on my part anyway."

"Me? Stalk you? You're the last person on the face of the planet I'd want to see, let alone follow! You're delusional." Theresa glared at Jake another moment then looked back to Cheren. "Just ignore him, he's a jerk. So, are we going to finish this battle or not?"

"No." Cheren replied. "Because you know as well as I do that there's no point. I forfeit."

Theresa blinked. "Alright, if you're sure." She recalled Draco into his pokeball with a shrug.

"Maybe you do have some brains after all," replied Jake at Cheren. "Though if you were really smart, you'd stay the heck away from her. As I said, she's a total psycho."

Cheren idly took his glasses off, wiped them, then put them back on. "You don't exactly have any proof of that besides your word."

"Uh... yeah." Blake added simply, though he had been silent as he watched everything go on, he was still not following the conversation too well.

"No proof, you say?" Jake tapped his nose. "You think my face is supposed to be this flat? She's pounded me so many times... I don't even have a profile anymore man! If that doesn't brand her as insane and dangerously violent, I don't know what does!"

"What that says to me," said Theresa, "Is that you're admitting you got the stuffing beat out of you by a girl. Not something guys are generally so quick to reveal."

"I only have one question. Are Lenora and Hawes the only people in Nacrene City with any sense of manners?" Cheren asked, annoyed with the bickering between the rivals.

Both Theresa and Jake made a death glare at Cheren. Apparently, the two were still capable of agreeing on something.

"Hey, Jake right? How many badges do you have anyway?" interrupted Blake, trying to change the subject. "It must be the same as Theresa, or close to it if you're rivals and all."

"Yeah," Jake said, pulling out his badge case, revealing seven badges. "I was just taking a trip back to Nacrene before tackling the last Gym." Jake looked at Theresa again. "I bet you were just too scared to tackle the last gym, since you know you're not really as tough as you pretend to be."

"Oh please," Theresa snapped, "If I'm so weak, then how come you've never beat me?"

"How about we change that?" Jake smirked and took a pokeball from his belt.

"Idiot. You're just going to get utterly humiliated again."

"Wanna bet?"

"Fine," said Theresa coldly, "I guess I could spare a minute to put you in your place." She snatched a pokeball from her belt as well.

"Go Darmanitan!" yelled Jake as he threw his pokeball. Promptly a large red Pokemon appeared, flames blazing on its eyebrows.

Theresa smirked. "Blade, let's do this." She tossed her ball, and a second Pokemon appeared on the field, this one blue and resembling a sea lion, a Samurott. It gave its opponent a cool look, as if deciding over the most efficient way of defeating it.

And meanwhile, likely highly curious, Blake's Oshawott popped out of its ball, and with its trainer's friendly assistance, climbed onto his shoulder to watch. The Nuvema trio looked on at the battle about to start.

"Not your smartest choice," commented Theresa. "But it's good for ME." Jake then seemed to realize his mistake and muttered bad-temperedly. "Hey, you challenged me. You've got no one to blame for this but yourself. Now, Blade, finish this quick. Waterfall."

"Dodge it!" commanded Jake, but it was no use. The Samurott leapt forward, and slammed the Darmanitan with a brutal Waterfall attack, knocking it skidding backward. The fire-type was just barely standing.

"Razor Shell." In a single fluid motion, Blade drew the swords from their sheaths on its forelegs and swung them both, knocking out the Darmanitan. Theresa smirked. "Give up yet?"

"Never!" Shouted Jake. "Go, Ferrothorn!" At his command, the huge metallic Pokemon appeared, glaring at Blade fiercely.

Theresa stared at him. "Wow, really, Jake? Blade. ICE BEAM." Immediately the blue sea lion unleashed the powerful attack, and the Ferrothorn tumbled backward from the force. "Again!" Before Jake's Pokemon could even think of dodging, the second blast of Ice Beam struck, and it was knocked away again; now looking utterly beaten, but still standing nonetheless. "One more time, Blade!" This time the Ferrothorn managed to slip to the side, but only just barely.

"Power Whip!" commanded Jake quickly. The Pokemon obediently charged up green energy into a vine and swung it at Blade. But, the sea lion saw it coming just in time and leapt straight up.

While still in mid-air, the Samurott let loose one more blast of ice on its opponent. This time, the Ferrothorn didn't get back up.

Looking frustrated, Jake called back his Pokemon. "Hmph..."

"Wow... it's so fast!" Bianca said in awe.

"Impressive I suppose." Cheren went simply.

Comfortable on Blake's shoulder, the only thing the Oshawott had to 'say' was to squeal in amazement, then seemed to almost be cheering on the Samurott.

Surprisingly enough, Theresa called back her Pokemon. "You can sit out the rest of this. Wouldn't want him to get the upper hand on us." She paused a moment, then chose another Pokemon. "Ready, Jake?"

"Yeah," he said, whipping out a pokeball of his own. "Go, Elektross!" He sent the Pokemon out, and Theresa smirked.

"That's what I thought," she said. "Go, Chomp!" Immediately a huge Krookodile materialized, grinning at the electric-type. "Your electric moves won't do a thing."

"But neither will your ground moves," pointed out Jake.

"I don't need a type advantage to beat YOU."

"We'll just see about that!" Replied Jake enthusiastically. "Elektross... U-Turn!"

"Dodge it!" The Elektross lunged toward Chomp, who moved just enough that it was only skimmed by the attack, though it was clear it had done some damage. Then suddenly the Elektross was popped back into its ball... and replaced with a Sigilyph!

"What do you have to say to THAT?" asked Jake, grinned right back.

"Rock Slide." Chomp brought down crushing boulders on the newcomer, who went down in a single move. Jake recalled the Pokemon back, clearly irritated.

"Fine then... Seismitoad!" The giant toad-like Pokemon appeared, glaring at Chomp. For the first time since the battle started, Theresa actually looked annoyed at the matchup.

"Shadow Claw!"

"Surf!"

The two Pokemon collided, their attacks slamming into each other. Both staggered back from the collision...

… And Chomp collapsed. Theresa called the Pokemon back, paused a moment, and frowned. "Fine, know what? Time for the heavy artillery. VICTINI!" The little Pokemon appeared immediately, grinning devilishly. Jake paled at her choice, despite the fact he still had a type advantage.

Cheren was able to get out his pokedex to scan the Pokemon. "Hmm... fire and psychic, that's interesting."

Bianca didn't quite catch on to the logic. "Isn't it supposed to be bad to put a fire-type against a water-type?"

"Hey it fried Oshawott in an instant, no offense little guy." Blake replied, patting the tiny otter's head, who simply squeaked back.

"I suspect this will be another matchup that will end very fast." added Cheren. "That Victini must have another unexpected move it knows."

"Of course," answered Theresa without even glancing toward the spectators. "And, Bianca, if you still doubt my logic, perhaps you should check what the Pokedex has to say about Victini. Put that gadget to use."

Bianca simply pulled out her own pokedex, scanning the furry creature, to fulfill her curiosity.

_**"Victini, the Victory Pokemon. Its body overflows with an unlimited supply of energy, which it shares with those it touches. It is said that Trainers with Victini will always win."**_

"Exactly," Theresa said with a smirk. "Unlimited power. All the better to mop the floor with Jake here." Jake gave her an irritated look.

"Using a legendary Pokemon should be considered cheating..." he muttered.

"Anyway, moving on. Victini, ENERGY BALL!" The Pokemon smirked, and a glowing, green ball of power formed in its paws, then all at once it flung the sphere. The Seismitoad tried to dodge, but its opponent was just too fast. The attack struck, sending the Pokemon flying and instantly knocking it out. The Victini cackled with glee, hopping around excitedly.

Blake and Cheren were the speechless ones, their only thought that they would never want to face the tiny terror in a battle. Bianca was just as amazed at how powerful the small creature was.

"Alright... Elektross, your turn again!" Jake sent out the Pokemon once more, and it watched Victini with a wary expression.

"Let's just get this over with," said Theresa. "Fire Blast!" Victini immediately unleashed an explosion of flames onto the Elektross, and just about everything else around too. When the smoke cleared, not only was the opponent down for the count, but quite a bit of the nearby scenery was noticeably singed, including the ashes of something that might have been paper or cardboard. The Victini grinned.

Theresa facepalmed. "I meant on JUST the Elektross!" Victini just gave her an innocent look, as if to say it truly hadn't realized her meaning. "Cool off for a bit okay?" She returned the legendary to its ball and looked back to Jake, who had wordlessly returned his Pokemon as well. She took out another pokeball, and he grabbed his last remaining team member.

"Bouffalant, go!"

"Blade, one more round!" The two Pokemon appeared and glared at each other.

"Megahorn!"

"Razor Shell!" The opponents lunged at each other with their attacks, but at the last moment Blade side-stepped, letting the Bouffant charge past, and slashed it as it went by. The Pokemon barely budged, though it had clearly taken a hard hit. It turned back around and pawed the dust with its hooves.

"Giga Impact!" called Jake. The Bouffant dashed toward Blade, head lowered and surrounded by a purple aura streaked with yellow energy.

"Hydro Cannon!" All at once, Blade sucked in a deep breath, charging up power, before it blasted the intensely powerful attack. The Bouffalant struggled against the shining orb of water before its attack aura dissipated and it was sent tumbling backward, somersaulting three times, before striking a tree, totally knocked out.

Theresa grinned. "I win." She called back her Pokemon, and Jake did the same, though he didn't seem discouraged, just annoyed. He got out his wallet, muttering.

"Alright, how much do I owe you this time?"

"Nothing." Theresa seemed to find the question amusing. "Just beating the stuffing out of you was reward enough." She turned to Cheren. "And same goes for you, of course."

Jake put his wallet away, but still didn't look pleased. "Good for you," he snorted. "But next time, I'm going to win!"

"Maybe in your dreams." Theresa chuckled.

Confusing his trainer, Oshawott hopped down from its perch and came over to Theresa, then started squeaking at her.

Theresa looked down at the Pokemon. "Hm..." She paused a moment, then took out the pokeball containing Blade. "Maybe... are you curious about Blade after seeing him in action?"

The tiny otter nodded, letting out more adorable squeaks.

"Alright then." She let her Pokemon back out of its ball, then turned back to Jake. "Now you, scram, before I change my mind about the money just to annoy you."

Jake huffed, but finally turned and walked off... then tripped over a bit of the debris. "I meant to do that!" He yelled, brushing himself off before making another, more successful attempt at leaving.

"Idiot," muttered Theresa.

Blake watched his Oshawott a moment as it chattered at Blade excitedly. The Samurott was staring at the small Pokemon with an expression of clear surprise, but soon also slight amusement.

Blake then looked at Theresa. "Heh, I guess Blade has a new admirer now."

"And that's just so cute!" Bianca added.

After curiously examining the ashen remains around them, Cheren came over to Blake, surprising the teen, before pulling him back, intending to speak privately.

"So Blake, do you intend to continue traveling with your 'companion'? I think we have enough reason to have a bit of doubt on her... integrity.. Don't you think?"

Blake took a quick glance at Theresa, thinking over it, before looking back at Cheren. "Yeah I saw everything, especially how she treated you guys and all... but first let me give this one more chance just to be completely sure. I wanted to head off to Nimbasa now anyway."

Cheren sighed. "Very well.. And since Bianca still has yet to battle Burgh, it would probably be good enough that I'll at least be there."

"Thanks." Blake smiled. "Don't worry, I'll definitely talk to Theresa okay?"

Theresa had been watching Blade and Blake's Oshawott, and hadn't even noticed the two boys had left until she saw them coming back. She stared at them a moment, then decided it wasn't worth worrying about and returned her attention to the Pokemon.

"So Bianca," Cheren began to catch the blond's attention, "what Pokemon are you using for your gym battle?"

Bianca giggled at this, "I'm glad you asked!" Then she paused a moment. "Um... well I actually only have just two, but I know I can win!" She dug into her bag a moment before letting out her two Pokemon, but what was shocking was that her starter was no longer the small piglet Pokemon, Tepig.

The now bipedal swine made a loud rumble, which sounded like it was on the way to developing into the signature bellowing roar of its final evolution.

"He evolved?!" exclaimed Blake.

"Yes, who knew your 'little Bo' would become a Pignite so quickly." added Cheren, also surprised.

"I know! Isn't it great?" Bianca hugged her Pignite, who puffed up with pride at all the attention.

Theresa just blinked in astonishment. "Out of you three, I never would have expected Bianca to be the one ahead..."

At that line, Cheren wasn't amused. "Snivy and Oshawott will evolve at their own times. As for now, congratulations Bianca on your new Pignite." he said, making Bianca and her starter beam even more.

"Yes, congrats indeed," said Theresa, returning Blade to his pokeball. "Anyway... We should probably be moving on, don't you think, Blake?" She gave him a sharp look.

"Right.. yeah." Blake turned to his pals one last time after putting his starter back into its ball. "So see you guys at Nimbasa City?"

"Yes. We'll catch up." replied Cheren with a smile.

"Yeah so... bye Blake~! Bye Theresa~!" Bianca called, giving a wave.

Theresa gave the two a quick wave then set off, barely looking back to see if Blake was following, who kept up right behind her.

END CHAPTER 4

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**Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait on this chapter! And I hope you enjoyed this story's first OC to appear in the plot.**

**Don't worry, Jake's not the only one and he'll have further appearances, but there's not going to being too many OCs in here either.**


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